Still in Bangkok

We haven't done an awful lot in Thailand as yet. We're trying to arrange our overland trip to Ho Chi Min, but everything closes down here for the weekend which means we have to stay until Monday at the earliest.

Last night we left our safe haven of the Siam Dang district and took the efficient skytrain downtown for a river cruise. Security chased us onto the train, and we were pretty relieved to learn that it was just because I was carrying a drink.

The taxis here are generally very good, and all use the meter which prevents drivers from ripping people off (although it does encourage them to take creative routes to places). We have had one bad experience though, when trying to get to a restaurant for dinner the driver told us he knew where we wanted to go, but instead took us somewhere different. They do this because they get commission from the owner, but it means vastly inflated bills for us, so we refused to get out and demanded he take us to the correct restaurant. Firstly, he tried to talk us out of it by saying it was over an hour away, which was silly as he already knew we had a map. When we said we wanted to go anyway, he wasn’t very happy and started shouting high-pitched Thai obscenities at us, speeding around the city and banging on the steering wheel. Eventually we got out of the taxi around the station area, with the driver shouting ‘fook you’ as we left. Eventually, we found our way and had the best meal we've had in ages.